How to set up yard lighting run off of a battery

[alsxx]

Does anyone have an idiots guide on how to do this? As in what to buy and step by step what goes where? I'm stuck with dodgy solar lights driving me mad at present
Thanks

First post on this thread talks through how I did mine; some of the links might be out of date but you should be able to see what you need in order to search google and find other suppliers. It's really very very simple, let us know how you get on!

 

[honetpot]

I am bumping this as I took the plunge and bought the outdoor lighting kit.http://bedazzled.uk.com/LED_Stable_Lights.htm I am really pleased with it. Basically if you can use a screw driver it takes 20mins to put up and then there is light. I have never had lights in my stables as we have no mains electric so this is a real luxury, so to the person who posted the original link .THANK YOU

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

i was on a yard with no electrics, they used a windmill and had it charge up the battery, worked really well was attached to roof of stable, still there as far as i know working 26 years later

 

[maximoo]

Brilliant idea we went with the generator route which is a pain keep hauling it about in winter worth looking into this idea thanks for posting

 

[buddylove]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but does anyone know where I can buy a similar set up to the bedazzled torch based system? They seem to be permanently sold out 😠

 

[RoseGrey]

Bump !

 

[hellfire]

I have two huge solar panels connected to 3 big heavy duty leisure batteries then into a 1500w investor. Only time I need to charge the batteries is in winter if I've over done the power consumption. So to rectify this I bought a scrap little corsa that is hooked up to the system that re charges everything in winter. Cheap to run and I run everything even power toolset of solar. The bottom part of my farm where the horses are has no power so my electrician friend helped me out. Really easy to set up. He's even fitted a little box with lights telling me how charged the batteries are and warning when they are low. I've run my lights several hours each night in summer and only now the day lights gone do I have to charge now and then. Average example 1 low power LED spotlight like 60W on for 4 hours every night id need to re charge my batter every 6 weeks or so. The solar keeps them pretty full. I do not have to charge at all while we have decent daylight. To sort this I could get another solar panel but the car was cheap as if I ran it every day all week for 4 hours at a time the petrol a minimal 👍

 

[becks sadler]

http://www.warmsoles.co.uk/12v_weatherproof_bulkheads-827.html.

The CFL bulbs (get the 'white' light ones) are very bright - an 11w CFL bulb has the same light output as a 60w incandecant bulb; if its cold they can take a minute or so to really brighten up, but I would honestly recommend them over anything else; I have tried some 12v fluorescent strip lamp things and they were rubbish - really dull and yellow light! CFL bulbs are also energy efficient/long lasting.

Setting up the system

Someone recommend to me the following site and I found it really useful when planning and actually wiring up the system, there are example wiring diagrams (the system shown includes a solar panel, if you don't have one like me, simply wire straight to the first bulb: http://www.reuk.co.uk/Put-Together-a...ghting-Kit.htm I have also noticed that the warm soles site sells some lighting kits and there are some PDF wiring instructions on there which people may find useful.

I rigged my system all up myself. I got some croc clips from Halfords and attached one to each of the cable wires that I had split down at one end to expose the seperate positive and negative cores using electrical insulating tape. I leave one clip permanently attached to one battery terminal and then attach the other when I want light.

I tried a 12v switch however for some reason it was really temperamental - sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. I spoke to someone else who had the same experience, so I decided to not bother on the basis its better knowing you will definately have light, rather than having to fiddle around in the dark because your switch isn't functioning!! My battery is locked away in my feed room and I have a little hit light from homebase that runs off of 2 AA batteries - I turn that on so I can avoid any buckets lying around until I have my battery on - it takes me 2 seconds to turn it on.

When wiring up your system, take note that the bulb holders will have a positive and negative terminal to them, and you need to ensure you get the correct wire to each - sounds obvious but my bulb holders were not actually marked so it was a case of seeing if it worked and if it didn't swapping them around.

Charging

My set up needs charging once every four weeks so its not really much of a hindrance - I use my lights roughly 30 mins in the morning and an hour max at night weekdays, and generally not at all over the weekend. I got my charger from ebay - I shopped around on the specialist sites to find the best one for me (you need to get one that can cope with the AH of the battery), then found it on e-bay for half the price!

Also, I painted my stables and feed room white this summer to brighten it up a bit, and this has really enhanced the capability of my lighting system by making everything so much brighter.

If anyone is unsure of anything before buying, or has any questions when setting up a system, feel free to drop me a pm, more than happy to help.

Hope that helps everyone!!

Alex xx

p.s. I will try and get a picture of my yard lit up at night!

Hi can u tell me what wire you used pls thanks rebecca

 

[becks sadler]

http://www.warmsoles.co.uk/12v_weatherproof_bulkheads-827.html.

The CFL bulbs (get the 'white' light ones) are very bright - an 11w CFL bulb has the same light output as a 60w incandecant bulb; if its cold they can take a minute or so to really brighten up, but I would honestly recommend them over anything else; I have tried some 12v fluorescent strip lamp things and they were rubbish - really dull and yellow light! CFL bulbs are also energy efficient/long lasting.

Setting up the system

Someone recommend to me the following site and I found it really useful when planning and actually wiring up the system, there are example wiring diagrams (the system shown includes a solar panel, if you don't have one like me, simply wire straight to the first bulb: http://www.reuk.co.uk/Put-Together-a...ghting-Kit.htm I have also noticed that the warm soles site sells some lighting kits and there are some PDF wiring instructions on there which people may find useful.

I rigged my system all up myself. I got some croc clips from Halfords and attached one to each of the cable wires that I had split down at one end to expose the seperate positive and negative cores using electrical insulating tape. I leave one clip permanently attached to one battery terminal and then attach the other when I want light.

I tried a 12v switch however for some reason it was really temperamental - sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. I spoke to someone else who had the same experience, so I decided to not bother on the basis its better knowing you will definately have light, rather than having to fiddle around in the dark because your switch isn't functioning!! My battery is locked away in my feed room and I have a little hit light from homebase that runs off of 2 AA batteries - I turn that on so I can avoid any buckets lying around until I have my battery on - it takes me 2 seconds to turn it on.

When wiring up your system, take note that the bulb holders will have a positive and negative terminal to them, and you need to ensure you get the correct wire to each - sounds obvious but my bulb holders were not actually marked so it was a case of seeing if it worked and if it didn't swapping them around.

Charging

My set up needs charging once every four weeks so its not really much of a hindrance - I use my lights roughly 30 mins in the morning and an hour max at night weekdays, and generally not at all over the weekend. I got my charger from ebay - I shopped around on the specialist sites to find the best one for me (you need to get one that can cope with the AH of the battery), then found it on e-bay for half the price!

Also, I painted my stables and feed room white this summer to brighten it up a bit, and this has really enhanced the capability of my lighting system by making everything so much brighter.

If anyone is unsure of anything before buying, or has any questions when setting up a system, feel free to drop me a pm, more than happy to help.

Hope that helps everyone!!

Alex xx

p.s. I will try and get a picture of my yard lit up at night!

Hi pls can u tell me the bulb holders you used are they the same as you would use in your house also do u need a fuse thanks rebecca